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Nadal storms into Monte Carlo semis

Top seed Rafael Nadal crushed fifth seed Dominic Thiem 6-0, 6-2 to storm into the semifinals of Monte Carlo Masters. The Spaniard, who is gunning for his 11th title in the principality, faces Grigor Dimitrov in the penultimate round.

Nadal’s domination was so overwhelming that Thiem didn’t get on the scoreboard until the 10th game.

The Austrian had raised prospects of a tight encounter in the semifinal after beating two-time champion Novak Djokovic on Thursday. However, he wilted under Nadal’s pressure dropping his serve thrice in the first set.

He managed to hold his serve for the first time in the fourth game of the second set. However, by then Nadal was in complete control. The 16-time-Grand Slam winner sealed his win in just 68 minutes.

“Here I think I played great... It has been a great day for me, and a very good result against a very difficult rival,” said Nadal.

The Spaniard is now just two wins away from a record 31st Masters title.